Branch-and-cut methods for the Network Design Problem with Vulnerability Constraints

The aim of Network Design Problem with Vulnerability Constraints (NDPVC), introduced by Gouveia and Leitner [EJOR, 2017], is to design survivable telecommunications networks that impose length bounds on the communication paths of each commodity pair, before and after the failure of any k links. This problem was proposed as an alternative to the Hop-Constrained Survivable … Read more

A Branch-and-Cut Algorithm for Discrete Bilevel Linear Programs

We present a branch-and-cut algorithm for solving discrete bilevel linear programs where the upper-level variables are binary and the lower-level variables are either pure integer or pure binary. This algorithm performs local search to find improved bilevel feasible solutions. We strengthen the relaxed node subproblems in the branch-and-cut search tree by generating cuts to eliminate … Read more

Polynomial Norms

In this paper, we study polynomial norms, i.e. norms that are the dth root of a degree-d homogeneous polynomial f. We first show that a necessary and sufficient condition for f^(1/d) to be a norm is for f to be strictly convex, or equivalently, convex and positive definite. Though not all norms come from dth … Read more

A Progressive Hedging Based Branch-and-Bound Algorithm for Stochastic Mixed-Integer Programs

Progressive Hedging (PH) is a well-known algorithm for solving multi-stage stochastic convex optimization problems. Most previous extensions of PH for stochastic mixed-integer programs have been implemented without convergence guarantees. In this paper, we present a new framework that shows how PH can be utilized while guaranteeing convergence to globally optimal solutions of stochastic mixed-integer convex … Read more

Subdifferentiation and Smoothing of Nonsmooth Integral Functionals

The subdifferential calculus for the expectation of nonsmooth random integrands involves many fundamental and challenging problems in stochastic optimization. It is known that for Clarke regular integrands, the Clarke subdifferential equals the expectation of their Clarke subdifferential. In particular, this holds for convex integrands. However, little is known about calculation of Clarke subgradients for the … Read more

The Many Faces of Degeneracy in Conic Optimization

Slater’s condition — existence of a “strictly feasible solution” — is a common assumption in conic optimization. Without strict feasibility, first-order optimality conditions may be meaningless, the dual problem may yield little information about the primal, and small changes in the data may render the problem infeasible. Hence, failure of strict feasibility can negatively impact … Read more

A Primal-Dual Augmented Lagrangian Penalty-Interior-Point Filter Line Search Algorithm

Interior-point methods have been shown to be very efficient for large-scale nonlinear programming. The combination with penalty methods increases their robustness due to the regularization of the constraints caused by the penalty term. In this paper a primal-dual penalty-interior-point algorithm is proposed, that is based on an augmented Lagrangian approach with an l2-exact penalty function. … Read more

Convergence and Complexity Analysis of a Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm for Inverse Problems

The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is one of the most popular algorithms for finding the solution of nonlinear least squares problems. Across different modified variations of the basic procedure, the algorithm enjoys global convergence, a competitive worst case iteration complexity rate, and a guaranteed rate of local convergence for both zero and nonzero small residual problems, under … Read more

A Multilevel Model of the European Entry-Exit Gas Market

In entry-exit gas markets as they are currently implemented in Europe, network constraints do not affect market interaction beyond the technical capacities determined by the TSO that restrict the quantities individual firms can trade at the market. It is an up to now unanswered question to what extent existing network capacity remains unused in an … Read more

Multistage Stochastic Unit Commitment Using Stochastic Dual Dynamic Integer Programming

Unit commitment (UC) is a key operational problem in power systems used to determine an optimal daily or weekly generation commitment schedule. Incorporating uncertainty in this already difficult mixed integer optimization problem introduces significant computational challenges. Most existing stochastic UC models consider either a two-stage decision structure, where the commitment schedule for the entire planning … Read more